Beynat is ‘disappointed’ but said the decision to cancel was a ‘responsible’ one.

‘With this limited number of exhibitors we were afraid of attracting a limited number of visitors,’ he told Decanter.com. ‘I guess the economic crisis didn’t help.’

Despite the setback, Vinexpo remains committed to hosting a consumer wine show, although this might not be in the US.

‘Promoting wine in the US is quite complicated,’ Beynat said. ‘In the next months we will analyse exactly what we maybe need to improve or amend. We are always thinking about the US, but we are also open to several countries.’

Vinexpo has promised full refunds to exhibitors already signed up to Rendez-Vous.

This will mostly consist of refunded ‘down payments’, because exhibitors were only due to be billed for the full amount earlier this month.

‘The investment we made to create the brand will be useful for the next time. So [the money] isn’t lost,’ Beynat said.